Case Study: Making Ends Meet

Sapsford 1

Megan Sapsford

ENG-21011-505

Anthony Santirojprapai

17 October 2014

Making Ends Meet In 2013, there were 45.3 million people in the United States who fell under the parameters of poverty (Iceland 129). This is a number that may be shockingly large to those who have always been well-off in life. It’s easy to look at a statistic like this one and say that it’s horrible that so many people in America have to struggle below the poverty level. Even though it can easy to feel shocked by these statistics, it can sometimes be much harder to feel the spark of motivation needed to do something about the situation. There are plenty of charities that run food pantries or offer hot meals. While this is an excellent way to aide those who are struggling to survive, it isn’t going to solve the problem. In order to effectively combat the problem of poverty in the U.S, we need to focus more

Researchers found that that a majority of all public school students in one third of America’s states now come from low-income families. “Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school all together because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members”(McIntyre). “Dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old students who come from low income families are seven times more likely to drop out than those from families with higher incomes”(McIntyre). Graduating without a high school or college diploma is a very good way to ensure the generation that grew` up in poverty will remain in this situation long term. If they do not receive enough education, to get a job with a good salary, then the cycle of poverty will never break. John Galbraith made proper education for children one of the major points in his article “The Position of Poverty.” He argued that we must invest in good education for the children so that they would have a bright future ahead of them